ARCHITECTURE
The business and residential districts of our cities and villages offer a unique look into the designs of the past. The architecture in these places ranges from clapboard store- fronts to ornate sandstone churches. Mapped, self-guided walking tours are available for the Hancock historic district, the Calumet historic business district, the Calumet industrial core, and the Laurium historic residential district.

LIGHTHOUSES
Among the most interesting structures of the Keweenaw Peninsula are the lighthouses. They were an important factor in transporting the mineral resources of the copper district. Millions of pounds of copper were mined and shipped from the area. The Copper Country became known throughout the world, and its ore helped to bring about the rapid industrialization of this country in the late 19th century.
 
COPPER HARBOR (1866) - at the east point of the Harbor entrance. Now a part of the Ft. Wilkins State Park Complex, it is accessible by boat tour from Copper Harbor.

EAGLE HARBOR (1871) - at the west end of Eagle Harbor. Now a museum, it is a part of the Keweenaw County Historical Society's Light Station Museum Complex.

EAGLE RIVER (1855) - at the south bend of the Eagle River. It is now a private residence.

GULL ROCK (1867) - west of Manitou Island off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

JACOBSVILLE (1869) - 1 mile east of Portage Entry. It is now a private residence.

MANITOU (1850) - at the eastern point of Manitou Island, off the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

MENDOTA (1870) - on Mendota Point at Bete Grise. It is now a private residence.

PORTAGE LAKE LOWER ENTRY LIGHT (1930) - at the end of the long breakwall at White City.

PORTAGE LAKE UPPER ENTRY LIGHT (1950) - at the end of the long breakwall at McLain State Park.

SAND HILLS (1919) - 8 miles north of Ahmeek at Five Mile Point. It is now a bed & breakfast with tours available.
 
HISTORIC TOWNSITES
These locations are called ghost towns if no residents exist, or historic townsites if a small fraction of the once booming population still lives there. Additional information can be found in the many books available on local history.
  
HOUGHTON COUNTY
BALTIC - 6 miles sw of Houghton, it was the home of the Baltic Mining Co and in 1918 had a population of 3,000.

BEACON HILL - 6 miles northwest of Houghton, it was a mining community of the Tri-Mountain Mining Co. Population in 1905 was 260.

CRAIG - 13 miles sw of Houghton. Now known as Portage Entry, it had one of the first post offices in the Lake Superior region. In 1893 it had a population of 200.

FREDA - 17 miles west of Houghton, it was the home of the Champion Mine mill. Settled in 1910, it had a population of 500.

GREGORYVILLE - opposite Lake Linden on Torch Lake. Settled in 1867, it was a mill and lumber camp that furnished lumber to local mining companies. It had its own 1/2 mile long race track.

JACOBSVILLE - at the mouth of the Portage River southeast of Lake Linden. Started in 1887 as a fishing village, it was the site of the sandstone quarry that provided the building material for many of the Copper Country's businesses and churches. Jacobsville sandstone also made its way to many cities in the eastern United States. Population in 1900 - 800.

NORTH KEARSARGE - a station on the Keweenaw Central railroad.

OSCEOLA/OPEECHEE - 1 mile south of Calumet, it was settled around the Osceola Consolidated Mining Co. In 1877 it has a population of 1,400.

POINT MILLS - 3 miles outside of Dollar Bay, it was the site of two stamp mills, the Arcadian and the Franklin. Its population in 1905 was 300.

RED RIDGE - 13 miles west of Houghton. Settled in 1905, it was the site of the Atlantic & Baltic stamp mills. Population in 1910 was 500.

SOUTH KEARSARGE - was named for the USS Kearsarge by a former naval officer who became an employee of the C & H Company. The Kearsarge mine opened in 1882 and worked until 1930.

WHITE CITY - south of Lake Linden at the lower Portage entry. In the early 1900's White City was a premiere summer resort with hotel-restaurant-saloon, amusement park with roller coaster and merry-go-round, rental cottages, dance pavilion, band stand and a 75 foot steamer dock. Excursion boats ran several times a day from the Houghton/Hancock area.

KEWEENAW COUNTY
ARNOLD MINE - just south of Copper Falls, the Arnold Mine is typical of many abandoned copper mine sites in the county. Founded in 1864, the mine produced 25 million pounds of copper from 1850-93, mainly from the Owl Creek Fissure. When the mining firm viewed further operations as hopeless, it was moved in 1926 to dispose of the property. The 1971 flooding of Jacobs Creek brought the old mine to light, revealing the workings of the mine & rock dump piles long hidden from view.

BETE GRISE - (French for Grey Beast). Located at the end of an 8 mile long, winding black top road east of US-41 that follows for some distance along the beaches of Lake Superior. In 1940, the buildings were abandoned & there were 10 residents. Former mining sites can be seen.

CENTRAL - on US-41 north of Phoenix. Settled in 1854 around the Central Mine, it's population went from 1,300 in 1887 to 100 in 1905.

CLIFF - See Clifton

CLIFTON - on the Cliff Drive south of Phoenix off US-41. Site of the once famous Cliff Mine, it was settled around 1844. Its peak population was 700 in 1877.

COPPER FALLS - between Eagle Harbor and US-41. Settled about 1845 around the Copper Falls Mine, its population went from 500 in 1877 to 30 in 1920.

CREST VIEW - between Phoenix and Eagle River. There was also a Crest View Junction between Cliff & Phoenix.

DELAWARE - on US-41 south of Copper Harbor. Settled in 1846 by the Delaware Mining Company, its population went from 1,150 in 1877 to 25 in 1893.

GAY - on the south shore of Lake Superior 12 miles from Mohawk. Settled in 1904 around the stamp mills of the Mohawk & Wolverine Mining Companies. Peak population was 800 in 1903.

HEBARD - between Mohawk & Gay. In 1910 it was a station on the Mineral Range railroad.

JOHNS - on Isle Royale. Established in 1910.

LAC LA BELLE- on the south shore of the Keweenaw about 4 miles from US-41. Site of the stamp mills for the Delaware Mining Company and an important shipping point.

MANDAN - off US-41 south of Copper Harbor. A stop on the Keweenaw Central Railroad line, it had a population of 300 people in 1910.

OJIBWAY - 3 miles north of Mohawk, it was a station of the Keweenaw Central Railroad.

PENN MINE - 5 miles east of Eagle Harbor & 13 miles SW of Copper Harbor. PHOENIX - on US-41. Settled in 1845 by the Phoenix Copper Company of Boston, MA, it's population rose to 1,000 in 1879.

SNOSHOE - between Traverse & Gay, it was a station on the Keweenaw Central Railroad.

TOBINS HARBOR - located on Isle Royale.

TRAVERSE - between Hebard & Snoshoe, northwest of Gay. It was a station of the Mineral Range railroad.

TRAVERSE BAY JUNCTION - a station of the Mineral Range Railroad.

WYOMING - just of US-41 on the Lac La Belle Road. Located on the banks of the Montreal River, it was the site of a stamping mill and the old Wyoming Mine. With 4 saloons running wide open the town was the hang-out for miners from area locations and became known for miles around as "Hell Town".

CEMETERIES
The rich history of the Copper Country can be glimpsed by walking through one of the local cemeteries. Many nationalities lie side by side with some stones in their original European language. Please respect the final resting places of these hardy pioneers.

ATLANTIC MINE - off M-26 in Atlantic Mine.

CALVARY - 1 mile north of Ahmeek on the Five Mile Point Road.

CHASSELL - off US-41 in Chassell.  Founded in 1849.

COPPER HARBOR - on US-41 south of Copper Harbor.  Founded in 1853.

EVERGREEN - on M-26 south of Eagle River.  Founded in 1849.

FOREST HILLS - off US-41 on the Michigan Tech Campus.  Founded in 1862.

FORT WILKINS - at Ft Wilkins State Park outside of Copper Harbor.  Founded in 1844.

HECLA - off Cemetery Street in Laurium.  Founded in 1880.

HILLSIDE - off US-41 6 miles north of Mohawk.  Founded in 1843.

JACOBSVILLE - off the Bootjack Road in Jacobsville.  Founded in 1890.

JEWISH - outside Calumet near the Tamarack Waterworks Road.  Founded in the early 1900's.

LAKESIDE - off M-203, 2 miles outside of Hancock.  Founded in 1895.

LAKEVIEW - 2 miles west of Calumet on

M-203.  Founded in 1894.

MAPLE HILL - west of Lake Linden on Cemetery Road.  Founded in 1880.

MOUNTAIN VIEW - .5 miles north of South Range on M-26.  Founded in 1915.

MT CALVARY - west of Lake Linden on Cemetery Road.  Founded in 1876.

OSCAR - 6.5 miles west of Houghton on the Houghton Canal Road.

PINE GROVE - off M-26 in Eagle Harbor.  Founded in 1897.

REDRIDGE - 1-1/2 miles east of Redridge.  Founded in 1912.

SCHOOLCRAFT - 1 mile north of Calumet on

US-41.  Founded in 1865.

TOIVOLA - 3 miles west of Toivola on the Misery Bay Road.

WAASA - 9 miles east of Hancock off M-203.  Founded in 1920.